| Flame of Recca follows the story of a teenage boy named Recca Hanabishi, who is interested in ninja and claims to be one himself. He often gets into fights due to the fact that he made it publicly known that the person who manages to defeat him will earn his services as a loyal ninja. Despite this, he eventually pledges his loyalty and services as a ninja to Yanagi Sakoshita, a girl with the innate ability to heal any wound/injury, because of her kindess and compassion. Recca soon discovers that he possesses the innate ability to control/manipulate flames, and eventually learns that he is actually the son of the sixth generation leader of the Hokage, a ninja clan that was wiped out in the Tensho period roughly 400 years before the series' present day (possibly in the 1990's). |
Recca, the protagonist of the series, is a teenager obsessed with ninja and anything related to ninja. He declared that he would serve anyone who could defeat him in a fight as his/her loyal ninja. In truth, Recca was born the second son of Ouka, the leader of the Hokage ninja clan that existed over 400 years ago. Recca's older half-brother, Kurei, was supposed to be the heir to the leadership because he was the eldest and was born with the ability to control fire, but Recca also exhibited the same abilities as an infant, and is declared the true heir of the Hokage leadership. In an attempt to save him during the slaughter of the Hokage ninja clan (led by Oda Nobunaga), his mother (Kagero) used a forbidden technique that opened a portal that would transport him into the future, where the Flame of Recca storyline begins.
Yanagi is a teenage girl gifted with the innate ability to heal any kind of physical injury, and Recca immediately offered to serve her as his loyal ninja after seeing her compassion when she healed a severely injured puppy in a local park (in the anime series, she heals Recca after a pile of metal pipes collapsed on top of him). She is the prime objective of the series' main antagonist, Koran Mori, as he believes that her healing powers will help him attain eternal life.
Fuko, a tomboyish teenage girl, is Recca's childhood friend and has always aspired to defeat him in battle so that he would serve her as her ninja. She initially gets jealous and infuriated by the fact that Recca chose to become Yanagi's ninja just because he wanted to, and it is this jealousy is what ultimately makes her decide to accept the aid of Kagero, who offers to lend her Fujin (a powerful madogu that controls wind) in order to enable her to defeat Recca. In actuality, Kagero implanted a stone in the Fujin that allowed her to brainwash Fuko, but Recca manages to defeat Fuko and destroy the sphere. Fuko ends up being friends with both Yanagi and Recca after the incident, and she also keeps the Fujin and wields it throughout the rest of the series.
Domon is Recca's schoolmate who, like Fuko, has always wanted to defeat Recca. However, he is never able to do so, and ends up befriending and joining forces with Recca. Domon wields the Dosei no Wa ("The Ring of Saturn"), a madogu which enhances his physical strength. Later in the series, he also wields the Kuchibashi-O ("Beak King"), a super-sharp snapping claw on an extendable chain, and the Tetsugan ("Iron Ball"), which transmutes his entire body into a living iron golem for brief periods.
Tokiya is a second year student at Nashikiri High School, and he wields the madogu Ensui ("Dark Water"), a sword that utilizes water to create it blade and is capable of creating and controlling all three states of water (liquid, solid and gas). Tokiya wanted to take Yanagi from Recca because she looks exactly like his sister, Mifuyu Mikagami, who was murdered in front of his eyes when he was young. He uses the Hyomon Ken style which was developed specifically for the Ensui and the Hyoma En (a madogu that also controls water, but focuses more on water in its solid form). Tokiya joins forces with Recca in attempting to rescue Yanagi from Koran Mori's mansion, and he continues to be part of their team throughout the rest of the series.
Kaoru was once a member of Kurei's Uruha, but later, he becomes a member of Recca's team "Hokage" in the Ura Buto Satsujin. He wields the Kogan Anki, a puzzle-like weapon that has five different forms. In the manga, the weapon also has a mysterious sixth form: 'Mu' (Nothing).
Kage Hoshi, whose real name is Kagero, is the first antagonist of the series, and is later revealed to be Recca's mother. She possesses the 'Eikai Kyoku' ("Shadow Ball"), which allows her to teleport through shadows, show people the past, and perform acts of scrying. She performed the time travel (a technique which allows the user to travel or send another person to a different time) to save the infant Recca from being killed along with the rest of the Hokage clan. The technique, however curses the user with immortality.
Kurei is Recca's half brother who is four years older than him. He is also a flame master with the power of the phoenix, being able to capture the soul of a dead person in his flame. His character is tragic, the series portraying the fight between the two brothers as a culmination of the struggle for the leadership of the Hokage ninja clan 400 years ago. The most notable manifestation of his flame power is Kurenai (?), his former lover whose soul he absorbed using his flame when she was killed by Koran Mori. One of Kurenai's abilities is to hurl flame bolts which are hot enough to melt steel.
1. "The Princess and her Ninja! Power Awakens!" "Hime to ninja mezameta chikara!!"
2. "Fire and Wind, the Fatal Temptation!" "Hono to fujin kiken na yuwaku!!"
3. "The Soldier of Water! The Plane of Revenge!" "Mizu no kenshi fukushu no yaiba!!"
4. "The Maze of Mirror and the Determined Flame" "Kagami no meikyu kesshi no kaen!!"
5. "The Mystery of the Hokage Ninja" "Kage no ningun Hokage no nazo!!"
6. "The Dangerous Master of Flame, Kurei!" "Kyofu no enjutsushi Kurei!!"
7. "A Deadly Struggle, the Guardian of Stone" "Ishi no bannin shi no GAME"
8. "Room of the Doll! Fuko's Fatal Combat!" "Ningyo no heya! Fuko no shito!!"
9. "Devil Domon! Overwhelming Power!"
"Oni no Domon! Michinaru chikara!!"
10. "The War of Flames! The Fight Between Hokage Descendants"
"Hono no gekitotsu! Futari no Hokage!!"
11. "Adamantium Blade's Five Different Forms!"
"Kogan Anki! Itsutsu no yaiba!!"
12. "Kurenai, the Flame of the Angel of Death"
"Hono no Kurenai! Shi wo yobu tenshi!!"
13. "The Ultimate Flame! Legend of the Fire Dragons"
"Kyukyoku no hono! Densetsu no Karyu!!"
14."The Past is Brought Forward! The Truth of 400 Years Ago!"
"Yomigaeru kako! Yonhyakuen no shinjitsu!!"
15. "The Curse that Separates Mother and Son"
"Toki no noroi! Haha to musuko!!"
16. "Determination to Fight! Recca's Challenge!"
"Tatakai no ketsui! Recca no chosen!!"
17. "Hokage's Arrival! The Urubatousatsujin"
"Hokage kenzan! Ura Butou Satsujin!!"
18. "The Opening Battle! Mikagami's Sword"
"Shura no ken! Mikagami shutsujin!!"
19. "Unexploded Iron Fist! Domon's Last Resort"
"Tekken fuhatsu?! Domon no kirifuda!!"
20. "Secret of the Maiden's Skin"
"Bakuretsu!! Otome no hada no himitsu!!"
21. "Paper Dance! Breathing in Life!"
"Kami no mai! Fukikomareta inochi!!"
22. "The Terrible Monster has Changed! Recca is in Danger!"
"Hotoke no hyohen! Mo hitotsu no kao!!"
23. "Trial of Life and Death!"
"Inochigake no shiren!!"
24. "The Call from the Monster, the Warrior from Hell"
"Kemono no otakebi jigoku no senshi!!"
25. "What an Attack! The Lightning Battle"
"Shogeki!! Denkosekka no ketchaku!!"
26."Mokuren has Returned! The Danger of the Human Tree"
"Fukkatsu no Mokuren! Jimmen ju no kyoi!!"
27. "The Reason for her Tear! The Girl with the Hairblade!"
"Namida no wake midaregami no bishojo!!"
28. "The Instantaneous Flame, the Flame of Setsuna"
"Shakunetsu no ganko Setsuna no Shun En hono!!"
29. "Dangerous Lips! The Madougu of Speech!"
"Ayashi no kuchibiru! Kotodama no kyofu!!"
30. "The Seduction of the Beautiful. Dangerous Duet!"
"Bijo no yuwaku, shi no nijuso!!"
31. "The Cursed Flame! The Past of Kurei"
"Noro wa reshi hono Kurenai no kako!!"
32. "The Invisible Enemy! A Horrible Battle"
"Mienai teki kyofuto no tatakai!!"
33. "Two Dragons! The Stolen Move!"
"Nihiki no karyu!! Nusumareta waza!!"
34. "Skin Covered in Bruises! Fuko's Tough Fight!"
"Gekito Fuko!! Kizudarake no suhada!!"
35. "Answer to a Maiden's Prayer! The True Power of Fujin"
"Otome no inori mezameta Fujin!!"
36. "The Fire Dragons United! The Enemy Outside the Ring!"
"Karyu gattai!! RING gai no teki!!"
37. "Escape from the Oblivious Dimension! The Battle of the Other Place!"
"Ma jigen dasshutsu!! Akukan no tatakai!!"
38. "Horror! The Walking Corpse"
"Kyofu!! Yomigaetta shisha no nikutai!!"
39. "Mikagami Battles. Desperate Ice Sword!"
"Mikagami shito!! Kesshi no Hyomon Ken!!"
40. "Trap of the Evil Woman. The God of Wind is Furious!"
"Akujo no wana!! Ikari no Fujin!!"
41. "Fight Again! Recca & Kurei"
"Taiketsu futabi!! Recca to Kurei!!"
42. "The Deadly Battle! When the Candle of Life Burns out."
"Shito!! Inochimo e tsukiru made!!"
Kosuke Okano as Recca Hanabishi
Yuki Masuda as Yanagi Sakoshita
Akiko Hiramatsu as Fuko Kirisawa
Nobuo Tobita as Domon Ishijima
Hikaru Midorikawa as Tokiya Mikagami
Motoko Kumai as Kaoru Koganei
Kotono Mitsuishi as Kage Hoshi/Kagero
Ryotaro Okiayu as Kurei
Original Manga by: Nobuyuki Anzai
Producers: Ken Hagino and Madoka Takiyama
Director: Noriyuki Abe
Script Writer: Hiroshi Hashimoto
Story Editor: Hiroshi Hashimoto
Episode Director: Noriyuki Abe
Planning: Kenji Shimizu and Yuji Nunokawa
Art Director: Shigenori Takada
Art Design: Yuji Ikeda
Character Design: Atsushi Wakabayashi and Mari Kitayama
Music: Yusuke Honma
Director of Photography: Harutoshi Miyagawa
Key Animation: Kisei Yamada
Sound Effects: Yasufumi Yoda
opening theme: "NANKA SHIAWASE" (a kind of happiness) by The OYSTARS
ending themes:
episodes 1-32: "Love is changing" voice by Hikaru Nishida music by Toshinubo Kubota
episodes 33-42: "Zutto kimi no Soba de" (Always beside you) by Yuki Masuda
the following information about the anime was based on www.answers.com/topic/flame-of-recca
